Tuesday, 25 June 2013

Film: 'WORLD WAR Z' (in 3D)

I was really fearing that this was going to be a bit of a bummer. But it was not to be so.

Didn't start very well for me when discovered at the box office that, despite it being 'Bargain Tuesday', despite my claiming Senior Citizen discount, and despite my taking my own 3D specs, the ticket still came to more than twice the price I'd paid for yesterday's 3D 'Man of Steel'. So by the time I'd got myself ensconced I was seething inwardly (I don't have money to burn!) and only hadn't turned back to come home because I'd travelled 12 miles to get there.

Unfortunately my inner resentment took my mind off the first part of the film - though the opening scene was quite 'sit-up-and-watch-this' stuff. Then my mind wandered as to whether, when I got back home, today's dinner should be a Waitrose Potato and Leek flan (with pre-prepared salad and tinned new pots) or should I have Quorn sausages? (The latter eventually won out).
When I did start taking notice of what was going on in front of me, on the cinema's biggest of its eight screens, I started longing for Romero's 1979 'Dawn of the Dead' - or even 'Shaun of the Dead'. But when the scene shifted to Jerusalem I got back to my senses. It became rather good. The aerial shots, especially, were very impressive, with the 'undead' moving at the speed of an athlete at full sprint, and clambering on top of each other like ants overdosed on Red Bull. This was followed by a relatively short scene in a plane, which was another darned good one. Then onto science labs in Wales, of all places (sorry, J.G., no slur intended!) - and good and tense it continued to be, right to the film's end. Pity about the comforting, though brief, homily-epilogue from Mr Pitt which, I assume, was intended as a sort of "Don't have nightmares!" message for the parting audience.

So, surprisingly, not at all bad. I do wish I'd paid more attention to the earlier part of the film, but even so, unlike John Gray of 'Going Gently' in his recent review ( http://disasterfilm.blogspot.co.uk/2013/06/world-war-z.html ) I didn't need anything, Scotch egg or fried egg sarnie, to cheer me up afterwards.

'World War Z' is hardly a 'great' film but it certainly provided entertainment for me - and I think that if my mind hadn't been elsewhere earlier on then I may have given it a slightly higher rating. As it is, the minimum I can award it is a better than so-so.......................6/10

12 comments:

Hummmm interesting...I suppose one thing that I didn't explain was the fact I didn't care about many of the characters ( a vital thing in an apocalypse movie)The scientists in Wales came into the film too late to be that sympathetic and Pitts family were nothing but irritatingI only quite liked the israeli woman soldier.. Who basically said nothing for most of the last third of the movie

Yes, I felt (or didn't feel) the same way about the characters. B.P.'s family was very run-of-the-mill 'traditional' - just the kind that is designed to tug at the heart-strings when torn apart - though for whom I didn't care a hoot. I did feel a bit for Brad himself.The geographic placing of the final scene, though unusual (but perhaps suggested by a convenient, fairly close location at the time of shooting?) turned out to be no more than incidental. Apart from the wounded Brad being helped through a sleepy Welsh village it could have been anywhere. I did like the bearded boss-man in the labs, though. Not sure who the actor was.I hadn't realised that the one-armed Israeli soldier had been female until they were in the plane, and only then after it had taken off. Up till then I'd wondered why 'he' spoke in such a high-pitch. Perhaps my inattentive mind was to blame for that. Anyway, now, on the morning after, I still think it was a fairly good film.

I can't watch big summer blockbusters Ray but I enjoyed reading your review.I was mildly interested in this film though as much of it was filmed in Glasgow city centre and I remember the city being chaotic as many streets were closed for about a week. But I'm sure that it's so edited you wouldn't know it!

It certainly fooled me, Craig. I hadn't known about where the opening section of the film was made - and it was just as well as I wasn't distracted. If I were to see it again I'd be looking for tell-tale indications.Not a bad film for Summer entertainment, but maybe not worth going far out of ones way to catch.

I've never gotten 'zombies" ( not unlike some humor, on which I recently wrote). So no WWZ for me. On the other hand I am intrigued 'why' people are intrigued with zombies. Interestingly (or sadly) there is a passivity to it viz. hide/run as they are legion and unstoppable.

I'm basically with you there, Dr Spo, but this is a rather different take on them in that in this film they are not slow-moving and to be dealt with one at a time, but very rapid movers and (thanks to CGI) they attack in hordes of hundreds or even thousands, as the aerial shots of them rampaging show. It just turned out to be rather different from what I was expecting, in a positive way. I agree, it's not everyone's cup o' tea.

I'd like to have a quick look at the film's opening again, this time in the knowledge of where it was filmed - and the final sequence to see Mr Favino once more. Not for any strong reasons other than these two features.

Ray, I'm glad to here from a trusted source that the film is not bad. The book is a favorite of mine, because it is a different take on the traditional zombie/outbreak genre. Though I know it is not like the book I'm glad that the film didn't tarnish the well earned reputation for both the book and film. I'm looking forward to seeing it, but as you know I'll wait until it is out of theaters.

I'll be very surprised if the film disappoints you, Kyle - particularly as you can accept that a film does not have to slavishly follow the original source in order to be good.I'd like to see it again myself, mainly in order to pay more attention to the first 45 mins or so, though as for you as well, a second viewing is not going to be in 3D.